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Since after signing Gary Speed from Newcastle for a transfer fee of 2 million pounds, it was not far away from the start of Tottenham's pre-season training. Therefore, after signing a work contract with Speed, George and this The Welsh veterans returned to London together to prepare for the upcoming summer training camp.
After all, for George, even if he finally restores the Tottenham first team that he sold into an empty shell to full strength, there is still a lot of work for him to deal with. For example, how can this brand-new team form sufficient combat effectiveness in the shortest possible time, so that the entire team will not be unable to perform as well as it should in the game due to insufficient tacit understanding among the players or other reasons? , thus affecting Tottenham's league ranking in the new season.
Therefore, during this period of time, George, while supervising the training status of the players with Old Charlie and other members of the coaching staff, adjusted the team's tactics based on their performance and technical characteristics during training in the team, and ensured that the players While being able to slowly memorize the tactical routines he formulated through daily training, it also allows the players to bring out their own strengths and characteristics in the game.
At this point, George and Ferguson have the same understanding. That is, rather than relying on a certain star or superstar to have a flash of inspiration in the game, the most important thing is to ensure that the team can fight as a whole at all times!
In George's view, players can have free space to express themselves in the game, but they can never put themselves above the interests of the entire team. If someone dares to do this, what awaits him must be the cold bench and ruthless purging that George has already prepared!
One month is neither long nor short. In this month, George finally allowed the players to form a basic tacit understanding with each other, and achieved three wins and one tie in the pre-season warm-up match. At the same time, some things that Tottenham players showed in the game, such as collective combat awareness and positive game attitude, made Tottenham fans who were worried about the team's major changes in the summer have doubts about Tottenham's performance in the new season. Have some good expectations.
You know, Tottenham Hotspur never showed such a spirit in the game last season. The old-fashioned game style and half-dead game attitude are what are most often seen in that Tottenham team. And now, after George's management, the team has become so energetic and aggressive, no longer seeking no merit but no faults like in previous seasons. How can this not make Tottenham fans ecstatic?
In this way, with the eager anticipation of Tottenham fans, the time came to August 16, which is the day when the opening game of the 2003-04 Premier League season officially started. One of the two protagonists responsible for starring in the opening game of this Premier League is the Tottenham Hotspur club coached by George!
At one o'clock in the afternoon on August 16, the entire Tottenham team, led by George, arrived in Birmingham, the second largest city in the UK, to prepare for the opening game of the Premier League, which will start on time at seven o'clock tonight!
Although George was quite surprised that Tottenham's game was chosen as the opening game of the Premier League this season, he was not disgusted with the arrangement. It can even be said that such a schedule is exactly what George wants. Because George now needs a big victory to build confidence in his players and let them know that the tactics used by the team can bring victory. At the same time, George also needs to use his outstanding performance and results to attract enough attention to Tottenham Hotspur, which has been playing in the Premier League for a long time. Therefore, the game between Tottenham and Birmingham was selected as the opening game of the Premier League this season, which is naturally what George wants to see most. After all, in the first round of the league, apart from those powerful dialogues, the opening game is the most eye-catching!
Sure enough, the English media paid great attention to the league opening match between Tottenham Hotspur and Birmingham City. On the one hand, it is because of the great significance of the league opener itself that the English media must focus on this game even if they look down on Tottenham and Birmingham; on the other hand, it is because of George relationship, many fans want to see whether the guy known as the "No. 1 Young Coach in the Premier League" can continue to create miracles at Tottenham after leaving Manchester United!
"Steve, long time no see." In the tunnel of St. Andrews Stadium, George, who was waiting with the players to appear, smiled and shook hands with Steve Bruce, the Birmingham coach. Since the two of them are both Ferguson's disciples, they naturally become much closer after meeting: "You are much richer now than before. It seems that you are living a good life in Birmingham... However, today I am determined to get the money here. The next big win, so if Birmingham loses too ugly, I hope Steve you won’t come to trouble me after the game.”
"George, you did a great job last season. You shouldered the responsibility of the head coach while Alex was recuperating due to illness, and you also defeated Arsenal and won the league championship. If it were anyone else, they probably wouldn't have been able to do it. At this point..." Bruce naturally admires George's performance when he served as the acting coach of Manchester United last season. After hearing the second half of George's words, the former Manchester United captain also said: "Haha, George, you look very confident... But don't forget, the one you have now is no longer the one who has been together for many years, no matter what Manchester United, which is at the top level of the Premier League in terms of personal strength and player tacit understanding, is a Tottenham team that has completed its reconstruction work less than a month ago! Want to get three points against us at Birmingham, or a big win? Then It depends on whether you Tottenham have such good teeth!"
"On this point, Steve, just rest assured, I... no, these young men under me will never let you down." Looking at the confident Bruce in front of him, George said with a chuckle, "Just wait and see, Tottenham's performance tonight will definitely surprise all of you!"
"Young man... these words coming out of your mouth, George, really feel quite subtle." Hearing George's words, Bruce couldn't help but look at the 23-year-old George Nelson standing in front of him with a strange expression. . You know, there are many players in Tottenham's starting lineup who are older than George. Therefore, when Bruce heard that Tottenham players were called young men by George, the feeling of violation was simply beyond the sky.
Now here is an introduction to Tottenham's starting lineup for this game. Tonight, George deployed a traditional British 4-4-2 parallel formation. Goalkeeper Cech, right back Stephen Carr, center backs Ledley King and Nemanja Vidic, and left back Heinze, these five people formed Tottenham's steel defense line in this game; in the midfield , Gary Speed and Carrick partnered in the middle, Darren Anderton and Bierovka were separated on the left and right wings; and on the forward line, it was Luca Toni and Robbie Keane. A combination of one high and one fast.
The reason for making such an arrangement is not the 4-3-3 formation that George liked most in his previous life and used quite skillfully when he was the acting coach of Manchester United (note: the positions of Giggs and Beckham can be regarded as both They are the two full midfielders in the 4-2-3-1 formation, which can also be regarded as the two wingers in the 4-3-3 formation), mainly because Tottenham players are not very skilled in using that formation. It is easy for various accidents to occur during a game due to poor coordination.
The 4-3-3 is precisely a formation that requires a high degree of tacit understanding among the players. Therefore, out of insurance considerations, George had no choice but to return to the traditional British 4-4-2 formation in this opening game. After all, for Tottenham, which has just completed its reconstruction work, now is the time to use wins and results to build confidence, and it is also a critical period for George to establish prestige in the locker room. If he cannot produce a convincing report card during this period, then George will face a very difficult situation next.
A good beginning is half the battle. This sentence is used to describe George's current situation, and it can be said to be extremely accurate!
In addition, George's arrangement of troops has another meaning, which is to give reassurance to old officials such as Anderton, Keane and Karl. Let them know that even if George brings a lot of new blood to Tottenham after taking office, he will never ignore them "old people" who came to White Hart Lane during the Hoddle period or even earlier. In other words, as long as they can meet George's tactical needs and perform well enough in normal training, no matter who they are, they will have a chance to enter the starting lineup. Therefore, in order for these old people in the Tottenham team to realize this more deeply, new players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Mascherano, and Villa will be considered by George as "still need to adapt to the rhythm and atmosphere of the Premier League game." was put on the substitute list.
Although Ronaldo and the others are indeed full of potential, at present, George still has to rely more on the performance of players with stronger immediate combat capabilities such as Poyet and Keane. Under the influence of these two aspects, George made such a tactical arrangement in the opening game.
Compared with Tottenham, who had to change to a 4-4-2 formation due to player proficiency and characteristics of the starting players, Birmingham, which used the same formation in this game, had more to do with their head coach. Steve Bruce is deeply influenced by traditional English football. Since the idea of flying together on both wings and long passes has been deeply engraved in his bones, therefore, facing Tottenham, a team that was not much higher than them in the league last season, after a summer of hard work, it has strong strength. Bruce naturally does not intend to take risks in this game when the team is likely to regress significantly. The former Manchester United captain, who has been working as a head coach for many years, knows that steadily winning the first victory of the new season at home and gaining three points is what Birmingham needs most now!
Just like that, with the referee's whistle, this opening game of great significance to George and Tottenham finally began, and the 2003-04 Premier League season officially kicked off at this moment!
